


For People Like You

by aria_vitali



Series: FFXIV Writing Prompts [12]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hope, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:01:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24628252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aria_vitali/pseuds/aria_vitali
Summary: Or question prompt,“How are you still so reasonable towards people after they’ve been so… awful to you?”
Series: FFXIV Writing Prompts [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1616035
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	For People Like You

You paused in the middle of your bite into your favorite pastry to eye the twins with mild astonishment. Even though it was Alisaie that had demanded from you, it was obvious that the elder brother was just as curious as to how you would answer such a question. 

In fact, it wasn’t just the two of them. It was everyone currently present in the room partaking in afternoon tea within the Borel manor; in other words, a certain viscount of the house’s name and a retired Azure Dragoon. So, you ponder at the thought as you slowly chew on the bitten off portion you couldn’t help but indulge in.

“What brought this up, Alisaie?” you ask, wondering truly if you had made a mistake somewhere down the line amidst your duty.

Somehow, your words only served to annoy the younger Leveilleur with a hint of bafflement.

“No offense to Ser Aymeric and the lords of estates that have been so generous to help us, but don’t you see the way that some try to use you?!” she exclaimed. “Use and abuse the savior of the nation, trying so desperately to come into your good graces so they may wield your name as both a weapon and shield… Have you really been blind to it?”

You blinked as Alisaie voiced her passions, watching as Alphinaud nodded furiously and approvingly at her side. When your eyes darted towards Aymeric and Estinien, their expressions were grim and filled with irritation directed not towards anyone in the room, but at the thought of some lords in question that they have noticed trying to do exactly what Alisaie claims.

You hum at the explanation and take another bite of your snack. Indeed, you know what you get yourself into when you accept menial tasks from strangers - whether or not they are aware of your status as the Warrior of Light. If Thancred were present, he would add in jest that you were a saint in your own right for having the patience to play fetch for even the worst kind of people.

However, you thrive in these interactions. It allows you to explore and see the world, to gain knowledge upon hearing whispers across the wind and within the shadows. It helps you feel as if you’re making a difference in terms of the big picture and the individual unit.

Yet, from the way the twins appeared, this sort of answer was not one that they desired. Rather, it was _incomplete_. What could you possibly tell them?

You turned to the native Ishgardians and they raise their brows in your direction. Their curiosity was blatantly obvious and it brought a small smile to your face. The memories of your time with them flooded in, from the haughtiness of a man ready to throw his lance towards the one that made his blood sing fair upon their first encounter to the aspiring atmosphere the lord commander brought with him as he took to the skies on Vedrfolnir’s back at the end of the Dragonsong War. If your measure of hope was any less than what you had now, would the outcome have been any different?

Then, your thoughts turned towards the man of silver hair that welcomed you into his hearth and home when you were lost. Of a woman in blue that sought to right her sins upon realization that her faith had been misplaced. Of a woman that shone like the sun that gave herself up to act as the Mothercrystal’s voice when she was found needing strength.

_A smile better suits a hero._

_I cannot let go of my dream—my dream of a tomorrow in which no child need freeze alone in the snow._

_For those we have lost, for those we can yet save._

You hear their voices among countless others. Their truest desires, their final words, the longings they have kept close to their hearts that drove them forward. Their dreams that they had entrusted to you, their desires you try so desperately to make manifest that nearly consume you. All of which felt as if it was ready to make you burst from the seams and in your wish to suppress such, you could nary do a thing but release a stray tear.

“My friend, are you alright?” you hear the lord commander call out to you.

You incline your head, then point towards Estinien. The dragoon flinched under your scrutiny, wondering what in Fury’s name has gotten into you that you would put him under the spotlight.

“Friend?” Alphinaud tries.

You smile. “I do it for people like Estinien.”

“What do you mean?” the dragoon questioned with a grunt.

Your smile softens. “I do it for the people lost in despair and desperation that they think the extremities are the only solution to their problems.”

Estinien frowned, reminded of that dreadful day on the Steps of Faith when he managed to wrestle control from Nidhogg for the briefest moment. Reminded of his desperate plea for you to end his life and the expression that you made as you ran to him to extract the Eyes from his person.

During his contemplation, you had gotten on your feet and stepped away from the table towards where the twins sat, side by side. You positioned yourself in the middle of them to collect them in your arms, holding them gently.

“I do it for people like the two of you, who seek answers for yourselves in the hope of discovering your inner strengths,” you continue. “Of discovering who you are as a person and your desires to help your fellow comrades and friends in their time of need.”

Alisaie seemed to visibly calm as you held her close and you pushed down the desire to snicker at the way poor Alphinaud’s cheeks lit up to the color of rolanberries. You gave them one more squeeze after a spell before you released them in favor of turning towards the lord commander and motioning to stand in front of him.

“...For people like you that see the cruelty in the world and truly wish to enact change - so much so that they dedicate their entire lives to acquiring the strength to make it happen.”

Aymeric’s eyes widened at the comment, feeling as if your gaze was peering into his very soul, even as you shifted your figure to return to your seat. You remained quiet for a moment as you allowed the release of one, two, perhaps a few more tears as you bathed in such reminiscence.

“It is because I love you, all of you, and this entire star that I continue to fight and hold my tongue. Because I love you and have hope that each individual can be a better version of themselves if given the chance. Each person is born on a clean slate and it’s up to us to teach them what the world has to offer and what they have to offer to the world. When I think of it that way...”

The company saw the way you beamed up at them, a smile that knew both great loss and great fortune and a heart that continues to live as if each day was their last. Your existence was the beacon that the misled yearn for whether you knew of it or not. Your deeds have bards singing ballads for decades- no, centuries to come and you make no explicit claim to such songs. It was only you and your desire to help, to mend, to heal.

Not only the world but also your own broken heart.

“...it’s the most beautiful thing.”


End file.
